​刺し子 -Sashiko-

刺し子は、江戸時代に東北地方などの寒冷地では木綿が手に入りにくく、寒さをしのぐために薄い麻の着物を重ねて生地を厚くし、そこに糸を刺すことで暖かさや丈夫さを確保する手段としてはじまったとされています。それが日本人の美への意識と手先の器用さが相まってひとつの文化の域にまで達しました。

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Sashiko is a variety of stitching techniques possibly started during Edo period in the Tohoku region where the weather was too cold for cotton to grow.

Cotton fabrics were also hard to come by from other regions, and people layered and reinforced the limited fabrics available to them by stitching them to make warmer and more durable garments to survive the severe winter.

Sashiko has since developed as a form of decorative stitching or embroidery, and many original patterns were created.